this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a panel of american experts have voted to recommend emergency approval of the pfizer/biontech coronavirus vaccine in the united states. a stark warning from britain's prime minister — the uk should prepare itself for no post—brexit trade deal with the eu. borisjohnson says there was now a strong possibility that talks would fail. i stand ready to talk to anybody, our friends and partners in the eu whenever they want. at the moment i have to tell you, in all candour, the treaty is not there yet. and hollywood star viola davis tells us about her new role

as the pioneering blues singer, ma rainey. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i'm kasia madera, stay with us for the latest news and analysis. in the last few minutes, a top us government advisory panel has recommended for authorisation the country's first vaccine against covid—19. the committee agreed 17 to four that the known benefits of the vaccine, developed by pfizer and germany's biontech, outweigh the risks in adults over 16 years of age. the formal approval from the food and drug administration is expected to follow very soon and the first patients in the us could receive the vaccine as early as monday.

this is what was said in just the last few minuets as the meeting concuded. ijust want i just want to thank the committee for voting on this very complex topic. i wanted to thank the committee for their discussion and their suggestions. we very much appreciate the input on this very important topic. and we will take what we heard today into consideration when deciding on not only the eua here but also how to move on in the development of this product was up thank you so much. that endorsementjust come in and on the last few moments. that endorsementjust come in and on the last few moments. joining me now is professor lawrence gostin, director of the who center on public health & human rights. let's, help us digest through this. this is an endorsement. what does that mean in real terms for this vaccine? in realterms the us

that mean in real terms for this vaccine? in real terms the us food and drug administration vaccine advisory committee makes a recommendation to the fda. it's not legally binding. but historically the fda has followed its advisory panels recommendations. it's very widely expected here in the united states that the fda will within a matter of days will grant emergency use authorisation for the first covid—i9 vaccine to be deployed in the united states. it was a very public way of discussing this. it was incredibly transparent. the kind of detail that many people in many other countries would've loved to have seen in their own nations. yes. i'm really glad you brought that up. because although i have enormous confidence in the british regulatory authorities it wasn't as public and transparent as in the united states. i think it's a wonderful

illustration that the united states institutions can be rigorous, thorough and transparent. even as we we re thorough and transparent. even as we were rushing toward a vaccine. and this is particularly important. i think i have to say this, that under the trump administration the cdc and of course the us fda has been put under enormous political pressure. and i've said from the start that i think that the us public health institutions will bend but they will not break. and that appears to be exactly what is happening. i'm actually quite proud of what the fda has done. so the committee voted 17 to four in favor. and the wording is that it out weights the risks of adults 16 years and older of taking the shot. outweighs the rest, just in case that causes any alarm bells for any of in case that causes any alarm bells forany of our in case that causes any alarm bells for any of our viewers. this is a very, very safe vaccine as far as we

know. but the thing about vaccines unlike medicines, is that when they are deployed they are deployed to millions upon millions of people. even the tiniest safety risks that you may never have anticipated could occui’. you may never have anticipated could occur. we saw that with the allergic reaction to the vaccine in a couple of patients in the uk. and so this is really regulatory speak. it's to say we haven't found any safety issues, but on balance, the benefits are issues, but on balance, the benefits a re clearly issues, but on balance, the benefits are clearly outweighing the risks. i do believe that that is an enormous benefit and extraordinarily low risk. but that's the way regulators do it. we now have three stringent regulators from the uk, canada and the united states soon to happen that will approve this pfizer

biotech vaccine. and that is great news for society. but now the hard work begins. because we have to make sure that we can actually roll it out. people will accept it. we've got in an enormous logistical challenge the likes of which the globe has never seen. on that note, the centers for disease control and prevention is advising that health ca re prevention is advising that health care workers should get it for us. ultimately, i guess it's the state governors decision as to who gets at ist. who would you be advising them to prioritise? yeah, and i have been advising. i absolutely think that the health workers and people in long—term elderly care facilities should get priority. there are good reasons for that. in health care workers, the ethics are that first they are at very heightened risk. any kind of a coronavirus we saw with sars, mortars and certainly now

with sars, mortars and certainly now with sars, mortars and certainly now with sars over two, that they are at great risk. a more important, we need our health system to function. right now i think it's no secret that the united states is going through an unprecedented crisis with huge spikes in hospitalisations and deaths. the hospitals are on the brink of collapse. we need to keep the health workforce on site, healthy safe and focus. that is job number one from ethical and legal point of view. and when it comes to the cause explained to us, it should be free but of course with the us health insurance system that you have, what happens to the people that are not under health insurance, the many many that don't? this is a lwa ys the many many that don't? this is always a big problem in the united states was up i will say that the white house is already said and our

department of health and human services that this will be a free vaccine. i do believe that. that it will be. but you still have problems with a broken health care system. like the united states does because people who are not insured, immigrants who are afraid of being deported may not turn up for their vaccines because they are afraid of the cause, they don't know it's free. they are afraid of deportation, afraid of law enforcement. all of these things are huge challenges. that's why it's a lwa ys huge challenges. that's why it's always better to have a national health system the way you do in the uk then the fragmented system we have in the united states. absolutely it's going to be a barrierfor absolutely it's going to be a barrier for us. on that note we are going to leave it there. it's been really good to talk to you on theirs. which will become a historic day. thank you so much for your expertise. i am most grateful, thanks.

the uk prime minister borisjohnson has said there's a strong possibility of a no—deal brexit after he and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen failed to break the deadlock last night in the negotiations. his comments come after the european commission set out contingency plans to ease disruption if britain and the eu fail to secure an agreement. talks will continue until sunday. a decision would then be made on whether or not the discussions are worth continuing. mrjohnson urged uk firms and people to start preparing for a no deal outcome. here's what he said earlier we need to be very very clear there is now a strong possibility, strong possibility that we will have a solution that's much more like australian relationship with the eu thana canadian relationship with the eu. that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. there are plenty of ways as i've said, that we can turn that to the advantage of both sides in the conversation. there are plenty of

opportunities for the uk. at the moment the uk is in a transition period until december 31st and wants continued access to the eu's single market. european commission president ursula von der leyen laid out the conditions for this to happen. i had a very long conversation yesterday night. with prime minister borisjohnson it was a good conversation but it is difficult. we are willing to grant access to the single market to our british friends. it's the largest single market in the world. but the conditions have to be fair. they have to be fair for our workers and for our companies. and this fine balance of fairness has not been achieved so far. our negotiators and two are still working and we will take a decision on sunday. thank you. (tx astons) so, if the transition period does end in three weeks without a trade deal —

it will mean changes for many people in the uk. here's our deputy political editor, vicki young. trade deals make things run more smoothly for businesses. since leaving the eu, britain has agreed dozens of them, but the one that's arguably the most important of all has run into trouble. for decades, the uk and the rest of the european union have bought and sold goods across borders without checks or taxes known as tariffs. but if there's no deal, then companies will have to operate under rules set by the world trade organisation. that means that most of the food imported to the uk from the eu would attract an extra tax. the british retail consortium has calculated that it will mean 48% on beef mince, i6% on cucumbers and 57% on cheddar cheese. when it comes to exports from the uk to the eu,

it will mean a tariff of 10% on cars and 35% on dairy products. both sides are putting measures in place to reduce disruption from the start of january. in key areas such as transport, the eu said today that it would allow things to carry on broadly as they are but only if the uk continue to follow existing rules on standards. and today, the eu has outlined temporary measures for areas other than trade. so, on aviation, they're saying that, for six months, uk planes can still fly to the eu, but they have to go to a single destination and then return. existing safety certificates would continue to be valid. and on fishing, they're saying that both sides should continue to access each other‘s waters for up to one year, but the uk would have to agree all of this. and there are other aspects of our relationship, including financial services and data sharing, that also need to be ironed out.

this won't necessarily involve a negotiation. many things are changing whether there's a trade deal or not. we'll no longer be able to move freely between the uk and the eu, to live and work. when it comes to holidays, you won't need a visa, but visits will be time—limited. free health care will no longer be guaranteed, we'll need different driving documents for some countries and extra paperwork for pets. all of those things have been agreed, but there's plenty more that will need to be discussed if trade talks collapse in the next few days. vicki young, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. israel and morocco have agreed to establish diplomatic relations. the israeli prime minister, benjamin neta nyahu, described the deal as extraordinary. but the palestinians called the agreement unacceptable, saying it encouraged israel's denial of their rights. morocco is the fourth arab country to normalise ties with israel

in recent months after the uae, bahrain and sudan. short—term letting website airbnb has begun trading on the stock market for the first time. its share price opened far higher than originally predicted, with the company valued at more than a hundred billion dollars. it's the biggest debut sale of shares by a us firm this year. conservationists say decades of efforts to save the european bison are proving successful. according to the latest update of the official extinction list, more than six thousand of the large mammals are scattered across poland, belarus and russia. they were almost wiped out by hunting and habitat loss a century ago, surviving only in zoos. stay with us on bbc news, still to come:and hollywood star viola davis tells us about her new role as the pioneering blues singer, ma rainey.

john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the center of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil, and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th cease—fire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, estimated at £120 million. she's pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace

said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... a panel of american experts have voted to recommend emergency approval of the pfizer/biontech coronavirus vaccine in the united states. while hope in the form of coronavirus vaccines is being restored for millions of us across the world, one of the pandemic‘s most fundamental questions remains unanswered. where did this virus come from and how did it come to infect humans? it it the question that investigators are hoping to answer. joining us now for more insight is professor edward holmes, an evolutionary biologist and virologist at the university of sydney. will we ever get the answer? good morning. i think we will get close

to an answer. whether we will ever find exactly the rest of our species isa find exactly the rest of our species is a little bit open to debate. at the moment there is a large push going in china to sample animals to see which ones may have a virus that's very close to the wand that has infected humans. but it's really needle in a haystack stop. we may be looking at the right cave even the right time for the right animal. it's going to be tough. i hope we will get there. people do need to be patient about this i think. can you categorically say it was either a bat or a pangolin or is there other possibilities? at the moment i think there are many possible routes of how it got to the virus was that we know that bats are very good reservoirs for coronaviruses. they contain... pincus was a very strange discovery. quite what role they play

is not quite clear yet. my strong bet would be there will be other animals. that carry coronaviruses. and some closer to sars too. that will just and some closer to sars too. that willjust require more investigations for that at the moment i don't think we can really say exactly what happened and where came from. bats must be in the somewhere. when you talk about sampling animals and how easy is that? i suppose you say a needle in a haystack, how much cooperation are you getting from the international community? and ultimately is china helping your? do we know categorically that wuhan was the place where it originated? at the moment the chinese authorities are doing a lot of sampling, i think. i'm actually not involved in that process was up i do have collaborators there and did wuhan, is that the place to first emerge? i think that's actually questionable.

certainly wuhan was where we first it. but www and maybe some of the superspy it. but www and maybe some of the super spy spreader advance was of the virus was brought into wuhan may be on the virus was brought into wuhan may beona the virus was brought into wuhan may be on a wildlife traffic animal or a farm animal. and then it may have exploded in wuhan. that obviously is not from wuhan but a different place in china. that's going to make detecting the origin that bit harder. it is going to be a tough process. but i have confidence that my colleagues in china and they who tea m my colleagues in china and they who team that will investigate this will doa team that will investigate this will do a good job. do you need the origins in order to prevent something like this? we are seeing these vaccines being rolled out at record—breaking speed. is the actual origin really important or can we prevent this virus or other forms of it in the future? i think it's hugely important. it matters at the moment. they've taken an amazingly less tha n moment. they've taken an amazingly less than a year to develop was up at has been a year in that year has obviously turned the world com pletely obviously turned the world

completely upside down. the future we need to try to prevent these things happening again. one of the key steps in preventing is trying to find out exactly how this virus has gone from animal into a human. for example gone from animal into a human. for exa m ple let's gone from animal into a human. for example let's say it's the first trade. if that's the route if we can find a further farm animal is the origin and we know that how it got there we need to regulate that industry better control it to stop it happening again. so origins is critical to help prevent the next pandemic. and be assured we will get more pandemics. i think it will happen in increasing frequency. i think origin is a huge and part of it. you have left me with more questions and answers. thank you so much for your time. it's been fascinating to speak with you, thank you so much for taiwan has been one of the most successful places in the world in dealing with covid—i9. so far, the island has only 700 cases and 7 deaths and has never had to go into lockdown. the government took action

early and decisively. but speaking to the bbc‘s taipei correspondent cindy sui, taiwan's health minister warned that even though vaccines are now available it was important to remain vigilant. translation: the vaccines probably do have their effectiveness and do provide some immunity. but everyone is not really clear how long they can protect people from the virus. right now everyone is assuming the person who has been vaccinated can't contract the virus. but there is no real evidence indicating this. because the three stages of clinical trials haven't been completed yet. in other words, the observation period is insufficient. in the past we observed for at least half a year. so i think during the upcoming half year we should carry out individual protection well. we need to closely evaluate whether the vaccines effectiveness is sufficient and what happens when the antibodies reach a low level.

pretty soon the countries of the us or the uk will be vaccinating its people. do you think that the world can actually relax now? translation: i think when vaccinations become more widespread the virus will ease. but at the same time we are worried that while vaccinations are being carried out everyone will be relaxed. of course the spread of the virus might be curbed during this time but not completely. so i think during the pre—vaccination. the whole world should pay attention to whether the relaxed attitude after getting vaccinations will lead to another peak and pandemic. in the foreseeable future even into next year, you don't believe that taiwan should lift its epidemic measures? translation: i strongly lean on scientific evidence. otherwise i think personal protection should not be loosens. so we continue to wear face into next year? of course, yeah.

ma rainey‘s black bottom is one of the most anticipated films of the year and hotly tipped for oscars success. it tells the story of the trailblazing blues singer ma rainey. the drama stars viola davis and chadwick boseman, who died of colon cancer this year. our arts editor, will gompertz spoke to viola davis and director george c. wolfe, from london's 100 club. testing, one, two,. one, two, you know what to do. # i'm on my way # as crazy as i can be. you're playing ma rainey, the legendary mother of the blues. it's the 19205. she's a very powerful black woman knows her status but she is in conflict with white producers who control to a certain extent her creativity. you could argue you are also a powerful black woman now,

nearly 100 years later. has much changed in the entertainment industry? there is still a huge deficit in terms of being in the total position of power, so that we don't have to go to white producers or white studio execs and have to over explain our work and over explain our artistry. we still have to achieve that. you care nothing about me. all you want is my voice. we're at the beginning of a race that has been going on for a01 years. that's like saying, i've got to run for 50,000 miles and ijust started yesterday and i was walking. laughter we still have a long way to go. but i feel like at least there is movement. i'm going to get me a band and make me some records. the character levee played

by chadwick boseman who tragically died after making the movie, what was the process of making the movie with him like? he wasn't interested in black panther any more. he was a character actor trapped in a leading man's body. he wasn't interested in chadwick. he wasn't interested in being the sexy lead of a movie. he was interested in the transformational value of the business. ma rainey is here. applause the fact it's set in 1927 and it deals with the dynamics of art, coming into contact with management, that it deals with race and the difference between the south and the north, every single thing that is still unresolved within the united states is, of course, going to resonate. # i'm on my way # crazy as i can be...# looks absolutely fabulous. more a lwa ys looks absolutely fabulous. more always on our website. i'll see you

very shortly bye—bye. hello again. although skies across the uk on thursday were almost uniformly grey and drab, skies like these overhead in llangollen were pretty commonplace across the country. there were, however, big temperature contrasts from place to place. in the west, we had some milder atlantic air moving in. whereas across central and eastern england along with the whole of scotland, we had much colder continental air. in the west, temperatures reached double figures, it was actually quite mild, 10—11 celsius. but across central and eastern england and scotland, temperatures were more typically around 5—6 celsius. we only managed to get 4 in dalwhinnie in the highlands of scotland. so, there were some big contrasts. those contrasts were driven, really, by this weather front that's been bringing rain eastwards over recent hours. and it's, as well, been one of those

nights where the milder air has been pushing in. temperatures for some have actually been rising throughout the night as well. so, for most of us, friday will get off to a relatively mild note but across eastern england, eastern scotland, there will still be some rain around. in fact, the rain will linger in aberdeenshire pretty much all day, bringing a risk of some localised flooding. but i suspect there will for a time in the morning be some low cloud for north east england and eastern scotland with some hill fog patches around. now, the skies do try to brighten up from the west but there will be plenty of showers coming through later on in the day. that milder air pushing into pretty much all of the uk though as we head towards the afternoon. so, temperatures will be lifting across those central and eastern areas. the weekend — well, we've still got low pressure loitering on the weather chart. that will continue to bring some rain for a time across scotland. the rain quite slow to ease across eastern areas of england — none of it particularly heavy, mind you — but later in the day, we'll start to see a ridge of high pressure building in from the west and that means that we should see more in the way of sunshine for northern ireland, for wales, for western and central southern areas of england.

now, that sunshine isn't going to hang around too long because the ridge is going to move away to be replaced by the second half of this weekend by low pressure. that low pressure will be bringing south—westerly winds. so, again, we should see some milder air sloshing its way in across the uk. now, sunday promises to be quite a windy day. we may well even have gales for a time around some of our western coasts. there will certainly be a lot of rain around as well, and even as the rain clears, showers will follow on. temperatures though on the mild side, reaching a high towards the south west of 13 celsius. that's your latest weather.

this is bbc world news.

the headlines. a panel of outside advisers to the us food and drug administration have voted to recommend emergency approval of the pfizer/biontech coronavirus vaccine in the united states. the committee voted 17—4 in favour. the european commission has set out proposals designed to ease the worst effects of a rupture with britain, if a post—brexit trade deal is not reached. it's proposing reciprocal contingency measures, covering air and road connections for six months. israel and morocco have agreed to establish diplomatic relations, in a deal announced by the white house. morocco becomes the fourth arab country to normalise ties with israel in recent months after the uae, bahrain, and sudan. and us chat show host ellen degeneres has tested positive for covid—19.